Balmshot

Is there anything more quintessentially Idaho than lip balm dispensed from a 20-gauge shotgun shell? If there is, we can't think of it at the moment—we're too busy checking out the website for Balmshot, the Eagle-based company that pedals its shotgun shell lip balm nationwide. According to company lore, the shotgun shell wasn't the inspiration for founder Wayne S. Forrey's lip balm innovation. Instead, it was the fact that the ribbed base of other lip balms, which he used consistently following a bout with lip cancer, got caught on the lining of his pocket, causing the balm to twist up while he wasn't using it and creating "a gooey mess" whenever he opened the cap. Searching in his garage for a solution, Forrey came up with using a shotgun shell to create a smooth base for his own line of balms, avoiding the pocket-soiling issue. Practicalities aside, Balmshot's beeswax balms simply look cool, with their shiny gold bases and bull's-eye logos. Available in flavors like cool mint, vanilla mint and pomegranate at $15.99 for a four-pack, they can be found at retailers across the U.S., including Bed Bath & Beyond, Cabella's, Fred Meyer and Ace Hardware. In a nod to Forrey, proceeds from the sale of pink ribbon-marked products go to the cancer-fighting Mountain States Tumor Institute.